Our Beliefs

Christ

Jesus Christ is the center of the gospel, the good news. He is the one through whom the power of God’s kingdom has entered history to renew lives, relationships, and the world. In the gospel, Christ gives us a radically new identity, freeing us from condemnation and self righteousness. He liberates us increasingly from the sin that once bound us, and makes us free to love and cherish all people with humility and patience.

Presbyterian

We believe in the historic Biblical teachings summarized in the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms, and in connectedness with other like-minded churches; we are a part of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP), a denomination of conservative, Christ-centered believers. For more information about the ARP, click here.

Church

The church is a family: a community of redeemed sinners who care deeply about Jesus Christ and about one another. It is a refuge, a shelter amidst the storms of life, where people can feel welcome to come as they are, whether or not they are regular churchgoers. Here you can bring your questions and expect thoughtful, compassionate and straightforward answers. Here you can bring your joys and your burdens and find friends who will seek to understand, support and encourage you in your faith journey. Here you can find forgiveness and hope at the feet of Jesus.

Our Staff

Iain Duguid, our founding pastor, launched Christ Presbyterian Church in the summer of 2015, after joining the faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary as Professor of Old Testament. A native of Great Britain, he previously taught at Westminster Seminary in California and Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. He is the author of numerous commentaries on Numbers, Esther and Ruth, Ezekiel, Daniel, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi and has written books on the beatitudes and the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and Joseph. Iain has previously planted churches in Oxford, England and Fallbrook, California, and Grove City, Pennsylvania. His wife, Barb, enjoys counseling, leading bible studies and is the author of Extravagant Grace: God's Glory Displayed In Our Weakness.

Our Leadership

As a presbyterian church we believe that the responsibility for church leadership should be:

Service-oriented: Jesus gives leaders to his church to serve after the pattern that he established, “not to be served but to serve.”

Shared: Our pastors and staff work together with our elders and deacons for the good of our congregation and community.

Connectional: We are part of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP) denomination and work together with sister churches in our presbytery and denomination to minister the gospel in our region, country and world.

Accountable: Since all Christians, including leaders, continue to struggle with sin as individuals and groups, God calls us to live in accountable relationships with one another. Members and officers of our church are accountable to our elders, as well as to the oversight of our local presbytery.

Our Story

Are you looking for a church founded on the gospel, shaped by the gospel and driven into ministry by the gospel? We are looking for those that God might be calling to be part of this new gospel community, so that we can begin ahead of time to worship together, pray together, build a common vision together, and start to develop strong relationships, as a foundation for the new church.

Every Sunday at 11 a.m., we gather for worship in Westminster Theological Seminary's Carriage House. Click below to get directions.

Core Values:

A church that is passionate about knowing God through the Gospel…The perfect life, atoning death and resurrection of Christ are the foundation for our hope. These truths, as articulated in the Confessions of the historic Protestant Reformation, are built on the bedrock of the Bible, God’s Word. We envisage a church that is focused on the ministry of the Word and the Sacraments, enthusiastic about studying the Bible and joyfully worshiping together, both in our Sunday services and in small groups, eagerly spending time in the Lord’s presence in prayer and praise.

A church that is passionate about loving one another through the gospel…As those that have been loved much and forgiven much, we envisage a church that is a caring community of God’s people, sharing one another’s joys and burdens, enthusiastic about supporting and encouraging one another, eagerly spending time in one another’s company.

A church that is passionate about taking the good news of the gospel out to the world…We envisage a church that is excited about the good news of Jesus Christ, enthusiastic about sharing that message with others, both locally and around the world, eagerly spending time with those outside the kingdom in order to win them for Christ. Our church will seek to be a blessing to the entire community of Glenside, where God has placed us, as well as a channel through which that blessing can go to the ends of the earth.